NINETY MINUTES · NO FEE
Come and play first
Nobody is placed at Rowan Hall from a video, a ranking or a phone call. Every player has a session with a senior coach first, and you keep the written assessment whether or not you join.
- Duration
- 90 minutes on court
- Cost
- Free for juniors and adults
- Who coaches it
- A senior coach, every time
- You receive
- A written assessment within a week
WHAT HAPPENS
Ninety minutes, in six parts
The same shape for a six-year-old and a county player. Only the level of the drills changes.
Twenty minutes of rallying
The coach feeds nothing. We want to see how a player behaves in a live rally, not how they look against a basket.
Every stroke, once
Forehand, backhand, serve, return and volley, each looked at against the syllabus checkpoints for that age.
A movement screen
Fifteen minutes of footwork and change of direction, watched by the S&C coach for squad and elite trials.
Something that goes wrong
A drill deliberately pitched above the player’s level. How they respond to it tells us more than the strokes do.
Points, played properly
The last half hour is competitive. Scoring, changeovers and a coach umpiring.
A conversation, not a verdict
Ten minutes at the end with the player and parents about what we saw and what we would do next.
ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Nothing is decided on the court
Every trial is discussed by the whole coaching team before a placement is offered.
On the day
The coach writes notes against the syllabus checkpoints while the session runs. Nothing is decided on court.
Coaches’ meeting
Every trial is discussed at the Monday coaching meeting, so the placement is a team decision rather than one coach’s view.
Written assessment
You receive a written assessment within a week: technical notes stroke by stroke, a physical screen, and the group we recommend.
Offer and start date
A place is offered with a schedule, a fee and a start date. There is no obligation and no deadline pressure.
WHAT TO BRING
Almost nothing
PARENT ATTENDANCE
Watch, from the loggia
WHAT COMES NEXT
The programme we recommend
The written assessment names one of these four, with the group and the schedule inside it.
Ages 4 — 11
Mini & Junior Pathway
Red, orange and green ball stages taught in groups of six. Rackets and balls provided; parents watch from the loggia.
Ages 11 — 18
Performance Squads
Selective squads training nine hours a week around school, with match play every Saturday and county tournament support.
Ages 14 — 21
Full-Time Elite
A full daily programme for national-standard players: morning court blocks, afternoon schooling on site, physio and video analysis.
Ages 18+
Adult Coaching & Club
Morning and evening group coaching from beginner to league standard, plus box leagues and a Sunday social round-robin.
TRIAL FORM
Book a session
We reply within two working days with dates. Nothing is charged and nothing is committed by sending this.
QUESTIONS
Before you
come
The things parents and adult players ask most often about the trial.
Yes, for the junior pathway and adult coaching. Squad entrants pay £45 for a trial block, credited against the first month, and the elite assessment week is £150 including accommodation.
That is the most common trial we run. The beginner session starts from the first racket, on a scaled court with a soft ball.
Trials run most weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings during term. We reply within two working days with dates.
It rarely says no — it usually says a different group. If we genuinely cannot take a player we say so plainly and suggest where would suit them better.
Yes. If a player is between two groups we invite them back for a second session before deciding.
NOT READY TO TRIAL
Come to a camp instead
Holiday camps are open to everyone, need no assessment, and are how about a third of our members first arrive.